Want Rental Apartments? Grab One from the 3,200 Norfolk Apartments

March 30, 2011 / Russell Legato, Residential Property Analyst

Constructions of rental apartments are now all over Norfolk, Virginia. According to the 2011 Real Estate Market Review from Old Dominion University, more rental apartments are proposed for the city of Norfolk than Chesapeake, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach combined, while residential developers said that they will be spending nearly $400 million to construct about 3,200 apartment units in the city.

In Santa Monica, California, affordable rental apartments are also available all over the city. According to Jim Kemper, Housing Administrator at Santa Monica, there are still 4000 affordable housing units, about 8 percent of the total rentable units, which are not localized in one area alone.

In Norfolk, five developments that consist of rental apartments opened for the last 14 months, while about 11 more and the expansion of two existing residential developments are still under construction, according to the city’s planning department.

According to Andy Protogyrou, a City Councilman, apartment developments are going up everywhere in the city. Another city council official, Angelia Williams said that the rental stock in the city is old and obsolete, and Norfolk needs developers to construct new rental apartments.

Norfolk’s City Mayor, Paul Fraim said that developers are only responding to the current marketplace. Mayor Fraim also said there’s been shift from homeownership to renting, and first-class rents are being paid in the city.

Vacancy rates in South Hampton Roads fell from 6.9 percent in late 2009 to about 5.7 percent in late 2010.

Recently opened rental apartments include the River House Apartments in Riverview, The Belmont at Freemason, and the 201 Twenty One in Ghent, while the 121-unit luxury development, Monticello Station will open this summer.